Upholstering press



July 21, 1925. 1,546,787

. J. KRAMER ET AL UPI-IOLSTERING PRESS Filed Jan. 22, 1923 Patented July 21, 19255.

, UNITED STATES JULIUS KRAMER AND LOUIS H. LOWER/Y, G15 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TJ'PHOLSTERING PRESS;

Application filed January 22; 1923. Serial No. 61 1310.

Te all whom z't may concern:

Be it known that we, JULIUS KRA ER and Louis H. Lownny, both citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Upholstering Presses, set forth in the annexed specification.

This invention relates to a press for holding theco1'nponent parts of aspring seat cushion or a similar upholstered piece during the application of the covering material to the frame,and the principal ob ect of theinventionis to" provide a simple and easily operated device in which the power 1s"directly applied and canbe readily released, The invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts.

' In the drawing Fig. 1 is an elevation partly ini'section showingthe device; Fig. 2 is a side view illustrating thepawl and ratchetinechanism5'Fig. 3 is a section taken onthe line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 1 is a section taken onthe line 4- 1 of Fig. 1.

An upholsteringpress of this kind is usually attached to the ceiling, Oran upper support, and'extends downwardly therefrom, as shewnin Fig. 1 so that the upholstered partcan be moved below the press and the power of thepress applied thereto through a' suitable frame carriedat the lower end thereof. In the present invention the power ofthe press is applied directly upon the turning of the hand wheel and the power plunger is counterweighted within the ceiling ream-see that it can be easily raised and lowered by turning the hand wheel; a lever controlled pawl has a spring for holding it in or out of engagement with a ratchet wh eel'by means of which the press ishcld in engagement with its work.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a ceilingfixture 1 comprises a cylinder havinga base 2 for attachment to a ceiling 3 orother upper support, and slidable in the lower end of the cylinder isa power shaft 4 having teeth onone side forming a ratchet 5 within the cylinder 1 and surrounding theshaft 5 is a counterweilght 6 which isattach-ed to the upper end of theshaft 5 by a flexiblemeinber 7 which is passed over rollers 8 mounted in the upper portion of the cylinder 1.

Meshing with the ratchet 5 ofthe power a shaft, adjacent the lower end of the cylinder, is a gear 9 carried by a shaft 10 which also carries a larger gear 11. This gear 11 meshes with a small gear or teeth 12 on the transverse shaft 13 at one end of which is a power or hand wheel 14:. At the opposite end of this shaft 13 is a ratchet wheel 15.

At the lower end of the power shaft be low the rack 5 is a collar 16 which limits the inward movement of the shaft, and at the extremity of the shaft is a rounded head 17 for applying the power of the press; 1 frame 18 is attachable to the shaft by means of bolts 19 extending therefrom through a plate 20 with nuts 21 attachable to the bolts on the upper side of the plate. A loose connection is made with the head 17 of the shaft by-means of a spaced plate 22 which fits loosely in an annular groove 23 at the end of the shaft 1 the extremity of the head 17 being rounded to bear against the upper face of the plate 20 so that the frame 18 can begiven a rocking motion with respect to the head.

On the same side of the cylinder 1 as the ratchet wheel 15 a lever 24 is pivoted for controlling the pawl 25 adapted to engage the ratchet and preferably having a common pivot with the lever 24. A swivel member 26 is carried at one end ofthe lever '21, and slidable through the swivel member is a rod' 27, one "end of which has a fixed pivot- 28011 the cylinder 1. Nearthis pivot (of the lever 24 and the rod 27. Between the free end of the pivoted pawl 25 and the adj acent end of the lever 24: is a spring 31 which tendsltodraw this end of the pawl toward the leverl The result is that when the lever'is 111 OnQ13OS1tlO11,aS shown in Fig. 2, the engaging end of the'pawl 25 will-be pressed against the ratchet wheel 1" 2 when the upper end of the lever is moved on the other side of the center line between it and the pivot 28, the spring 30 will hold the lever in the other position and the spring 31 will be compressed to release" the pawl 25from engagement with the'teeth of the ratchet wheel 15.- In actual operation,

when the power of the press is applied, the lever 24- may be turned from the position shownin Fig.2 to the other position'without disengaging the pawl" 25' but simply compressing its spring 31; as soon, however, as the gear is moved in the power applying direction, the pawl will be forced out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 15 by means of the spring 3i. This is advantageous for the reason that when it is desired to release the press, after it has been used, the lever :24 can be thrown in the releasing direction and then no further attention need be given thereto, allowing the operator to give full attention to the press itself and to the power wheel 14 in releasing it.

The operation of the press is very simple consisting merely in the rotation of the wheel lt in one direction or the other. As the power shaft 4 is counterweighted the wheel Ll can be rotated freely and rapidly in either direction until it is desired to directly apply the power. The lever 24: is then moved to the position shown in Fig. 2 and the further operation of the wheel 1 in the power applying direction is taken up and held by the ratchet wheel 15. The release of the ratchet wheel is accomplished in the manner already set forth, and the power shaft is raised by rotating the wheel 1% in the opposite direction.

lVe claim:

1. An upholstering press comprising a hollow cylindrical support and a power shaft movable therein and from one end thereof, and a counterweight for the shaft also covered by and movable in the cylindrical support.

2. An upholstering press comprising a hollow support, a vertically movable shaft mounted in the support, means at the loottom of the support for moving the shaft, and a counterweight surrounding the shaft, movable within and enclosed by the support, and connected for movement opposite that of the shaft.

3. An upholstering press comprising a cylindrical ceiling support, apower shaft mounted for vertical movement therein, means at the lower end of the support for operating the shaft, a cylindrical counterweight freely movable in the support and surrounding the shaft, and means including a flexible member connecting the shaft and counterweight at their upper ends for opposite movement and also enclosed. by the support.

4. In an upholstering press, a vertically movable shaft having a rack along one edge thereof, a tubular cylinder in which it is movable, a pair of connected transverse shafts at the bottom of the cylinder, a gear 5. In an upholstering press, a ceiling support, a shaft vertically movable therein, a counterweight within the support and surrounding the shaft, a pair of transverse shafts on opposite sides of the said vertical shaft connected for movement together, means connecting one of the transverse shafts with the vertically movable shaft, a power wheel attached to the other transverse shaft for directly moving the vertical shaft in either direction, and means for holding the power wheel shaft in the power applying direction.

6. In an upholstering press, a tubular supporting fixture, a power shaft movable therein and projecting at the bottom, means for operating the shaft in both directions, a counterweight for the shaft, movable in the said fixture a collar carried by the shaft for limiting its movement within the support, and ratchet means for engaging the power applying means to hold the press under pressure.

7. In an upholstering press, a tubular support and a power shaft movable therein and projecting at one end having teeth forming a rack along one edge, means for moving the shaft into and out of the support, said means comprising a gear adjacent the end of the support, a collar carried by the shaft for limiting the movement of the shaft within the support, and spring pressed pawl and ratchet means to oppose the movement of the shaft into the support in applying the pressure of the press.

8. In a press of the class described, a

reciprocable member, and means comprising a rotatable shaft for operating the member in reverse directions, a ratchet wheel carried by the shaft, a spring pressed pawl adapted to engage the ratchet wheel, and a spring pressed lever movable into either one of two positions and held therein by the spring for controlling the operation of the pawl. 9. In a press of the class described, reciprocable power member wheel power means including a shaft for operating the member, a ratchet wheel mounted on the shaft, a pawl adapted to engage the ratchet wheel, a lever having spring pressure means for holding it in either one of two positions, and a spring connecting the lever and the pawl for holding it yieldingly in engagement with the ratchet wheel in one position and for holding it yieldingly out of engagement with the wheel in the other position of the lever.

10. In a press of the class described, a vertically movable power member, means for operating the member comprising a rotatable shaft, a ratchet gear mounted on the shaft, a pivoted pawl engageable with the gear, an operating lever for controlling the pawl, a spring connecting the pawl and one end of the lever, a swivel car 'ied by this end of the lever having a rod slidable therein and pivoted at the other end for rotating movement, a springsurrounding the rod and bearing against the swivel tending to press the lever to one side or the other of a line joining the pivots of the lever and the rod so that when the lever is moved in one 

